Galapagos By Land and Sea

Swim with Marine Iguanas

Galapagos by Land and Sea

May 25 – June 5

12 Days/11 Nights – 2 Islands

$2650 per person – (not incl. airfare to Quito)

(ONLY 7 spots total available)

We’ll arrive in Quito, Ecuador on Friday, May 25, 2012.

Saturday – City and Equator tour – We’ll breach both hemispheres as we travel to the center of the world. Combined with a historical tour of this rich city, a splendid way to start our cultural and ecological exploration of this region. Breakfast and lunch included.

Sunday – Flight to Baltra Airport where we’ll transfer to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island. Once there we head to El Chato Reserve in the upper part of Santa Cruz Island – the natural habitat of the Santa Cruz tortoise, the largest in the Galapagos. The most recognized symbol of the Galapagos, the tortoise weights over 500 pounds and may have a shell measuring almost five feet! While we seek out these lumbering giants, we’ll also come across pintail ducks, egrets, flycatchers, finches, and frigate birds bathing in freshwater lakes. We enjoy lunch at a traditional highland hacienda where we also explore lava caves featuring incredible volcanic tunnel formations. Breakfast, lunch included.

Galapagos Hammerheads

Monday – Our underwater exploration with a 2 tank dive at Floreana with a chance to see red lipped batfish, large schools of fish, eagle rays and sharks. Breakfast and lunch included.

Tuesday – We’ll dive Gordon Rocks. Located within a volcanic crater, this dive site is definitely not for beginners. With several pinnacles of rock, and often super strong currents blowing between these, the various currents can make this dive a tricky one. Famous for its hammerhead sightings, other amazing life is found here, like sting rays, manta rays, turtles and moray eels. Breakfast and lunch included.

Wednesday – The Seymour/Mosquera dive sites north of Santa Cruz Island. North Seymour is a popular spot for all levels of divers. There are 2 different dive sites located at North Seymour Island. Besides the sea turtles, sea lions, eagle rays and fish, you´ll have the chance to see the endemic Galapagos Garden Eels by the hundreds, white tip reef sharks at a “cleaning station”, and hammerheads.. Breakfast and lunch included.

Thursday – We’ll do a 2 tank dive at Cousins Rock where golden cow-nosed rays, turtles, white tipped sharks, mobulas, Galapagos sharks and rays will provide the finale for our dive adventures. This site offers up a buffet of amazing sights for the diver: giant mantas below, sea turtles above, sea horses in the coral, and sea lions that play with your bubbles. We’ll enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bartoleme on our boat ride to Cousins. Breakfast and lunch included.

Volcano Sierra Negra

Friday – In the morning…we’ve the option to sleep in (it’s been a whirlwind so far…) or you can head to Tortuga Bay Beach, a favorite place for sea turtles (which gave the name to the beach), sea lions, marine iguanas, pelicans, flamingos and lava gulls which are endemic to the Islands. In the afternoon, we’ll travel two hours by boat to Isabela Island. Breakfast and dinner included.

Saturday – Today we explore the fascinating Galapagos highlands! We get an early start this morning to begin our hike over rugged terrain to the rim of the Sierra Negra Volcano, the second largest intact caldera in the world after Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. The trail can be quite muddy or dusty depending on the season, but the walk is well worth it as the vantage point from the rim offers fantastic views of the six by five mile wide lava-filled caldera as well as the other volcanoes beyond and the surrounding coastline. After catching our breath, we can choose to continue along the trail to Chico Volcano. With its puffing fumaroles and striking lava formations, it offers an out-of-this-world environment and good examples of the dramatic geological events that have forged the Galapagos Islands over millennia. After the volcano trip, we’ll head to Tintoreras, a set of small islets within Isabela bay, to walk through the otherworldly landscape of lava rocks. The islets are filled with wildlife – we’ll snorkel with marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, whitetip reef sharks, marine turtles, penguins, and much more. All meals included.

Blue Footed Booby Dance

Sunday – We’re on a boat tour of Los Tunnelles to see the blue footed boobies, penguins and turtles as we cruise through arches and overhangs of these interesting rock formations. By most visitors to Isabela, this is rated as the best day tour. In the afternoon, we’re free to visit the tortoise breeding center or walk by boardwalk through the wetlands towards town, where you can see flamingos feeding in the lagoons. All meals included.

Monday – Well…we knew this had to come. We’ll board the return boat…to take us to the return flight….to Quito. Monday night, we’ll head out for an amazing dinner in the city to share our favorite moments of the trip and bid adieu to the land forgotten by time. Breakfast and dinner included.

Tuesday – Yes….it’s a plane ride. Back to the U.S. (Transportation to the airport included…airfare and kleenex are not)

Disclaimer on itinerary

Single Travelers

If you are traveling alone and specifically request single accommodations, you will be asked to pay the full single supplement noted above. If you wish to share accommodations, we will assign a roommate if one is available. If a roommate cannot be found, you will be asked to pay a reduced single fee, which is one-half of the full single supplement. Please be advised that there are a limited number of single rooms available.

Price Includes:

Accommodations and meals as noted in the daily itinerary; round trip airfare from Quito to Galapagos, airport transfers Quito-Galapagos-Quito; inter-island transfers; services of a professional diving instructor throughout.

Price Does Not Include:

International airfare to and from Quito; airport transfers on international flights in and out of Quito; Galapagos Islands transit card (mandatory add-on cost & subject to change); Galapagos National Park entrance fee; 6 dinners; travel/evacuation/DAN insurance; (Diving insurance is mandatory for the Galapagos Islands. Do not confuse regular medical insurance with diving specific insurance, like DAN (Divers Alert Network) There is a Hyperbaric Chamber in Puerto Ayora); optional activities; scuba gear; excess baggage charges; airport taxes; alcoholic beverages or soft drinks; optional gratuities to your guides; items of a personal nature.

Payment and Cancellation Policy:

The required $500 deposit to reserve your space on this trip is due at the time of registration. The deposit is non-refundable 120 days prior to departure. If you needed to cancel your participation on this trip for a reason covered by your optional Travel Insurance plan, this cost would be reimbursable by that plan.

Qualifications: This trip is rated Moderate [3]. It contains a variety of activities including moderate hikes, snorkeling and scuba diving. Advanced Open Water certification for diving is highly recommended. The hike to the volcano is rated as strenuous due to elevation gain and length. In general, the island hiking is moderate in both length and terrain. We are not moving at a fast pace as our primary objective is to take time to enjoy the wildlife.

Weather

Quito is at 9,200 feet above sea-level and maintains a spring-like climate year round. The temperature ranges from 55° at night to 70° at midday, with the average temperature being in the mid-60s. The Galapagos have two seasons. The warm and rainy season lasts from January to June, and the average air temperature ranges from the low 80s to the low 90s with the average water temperature around 75°. There are many warm, often hot, sunny periods interspersed by rain showers. From July to December, the cooler and dryer months, the average air temperature is in the 70s with an average water temperature hovering between 64-68°. There may be occasional mist and overcast skies due to the garúa (fog) that sometimes pervades the islands at this time of year. A sweater or jacket is often needed at night. Note that at any time of year, the highlands on the islands are often enveloped in mist and fog keeping them much greener than areas near their shores.

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